Monday, 28 March 2016

In 2015, for the first time Pakistan held local government elections across all four provinces under a civilian government. All three tiers of government are now democratically elected – something that is unprecedented in Pakistan’s history. However, while this is a crucial step in the right direction, the laws enacted by the four provinces are restrictive and have been criticized by various quarters for not devolving any meaningful powers to the local bodies.

Thursday, 24 March 2016

Getting by on hungry days
Photo credit: Wikipedia/U.S National Archives & Records Administration

There is hunger in Pakistan and there is undernutrition. The two are closely connected but not the
same. We all know what hunger feels like. It is a bodily sensation associated with discomfort and pain. Social policy knows hunger in terms of energy
intake. The Food and Agricultural
Organization (FAO) of the United Nations defines hunger as the daily consumption of fewer than 1,800 kcal by an individual. The Pakistan government’s own benchmark,
until recently, was 2,100 kcal per day. Undernutrition
is the outcome of sustained periods of inadequate food intake on the health of
a person. Social policy knows
undernutrition through comparing an individual’s physical attributes such as
weight, height or blood micronutrient counts with those of a healthy population.

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About this blog

The Collective blog is written by researchers and guests of the Collective for Social Science Research. The authors share insight on their multidisciplinary research covering areas of social policy, economics, poverty, gender studies, nutrition, agriculture, labour, migration, and conflict with the objective of fostering informed debate on social, political and economic issues and policies.

The posts on this blog reflect the opinions of each individual, and not necessarily those of the Collective for Social Science Research.